Thursday, November 27, 2008

There's no place like this home. Estate of Panic turns nightmares into reality and pushes phobias to the limit.

Each week, a new group of contestants enter the estate searching for money hidden inside of booby-trapped rooms. The walls in one cave in, creating a hopelessly small space. Can the contestants survive it? Then thousands of creepy, crawling bugs line the walls and floor of another room, and flooding water rises by the second in another.

Throughout it all, contestants must remain calm because if they panic, they won't get paid.

The game begins with seven contestants who compete in three nerve-wracking challenges. After each challenge two are eliminated and their winnings are added back into the prize pot. The last person standing faces a final challenge in the Vault Room.

In Estate of Panic it's winner-take-all — if players can overcome their fears.

It is aired on the Sci Fi Channel, USA Network, and on the Chiller Network

The Host:

Steve Valentine, a Tannen's Magic customer, has done it all, from playing a child Prince in The King and I in London theater at the age of 7, to starring in the hit TV series Crossing Jordan and appearing in various other TV shows, a dozen movies and countless commercials.

Always the performer, Valentine has DJ'd in Europe, run a club at the age of 18 in the former Yugoslavia, traveled the world on a cruise ship performing stand-up comedy, headlined in Las Vegas and became known as one of the top close-up magicians in the world.

"I had a chance to stay in Vegas with my own illusion show," says Valentine. "But I'm an actor at heart and needed to stay in L.A. to follow that dream."

While in L.A., he still dabbled in magic, winning the coveted Close Up Magician of the Year Award, two years in a row, from Hollywood's world-famous Magic Castle. Valentine then auditioned for a movie role and the producer was a past magic client who had hired him for his child's bar mitzvah. But the producer didn't take Valentine seriously as a trained actor. Yet the next day Valentine dropped his magic act and the rest is history.

One year later, he appeared in The Nikki Show for the WB, followed by six years on NBC's Crossing Jordan. "While he is unorthodox in his approaches to his work and the people he works with, there is something amusing and charming about him," says Valentine of Dr. Nigel Townsend, his Crossing Jordan character.

Valentine's guest-starring role on NBC's Just Shoot Me, in which he played a flamboyant magician who has an affair with Nina (Wendie Malick), was a showstopper that gained him rave reviews. He's also guest starred on shows such as NBC's Will & Grace, The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman, Middleman, Dharma and Greg and The Hughleys to name a few.

Valentine's performances on the stage in both Los Angeles and London have ranged from stand-up comedy to Shakespeare. Among his favorite roles are as Stanley in Run for Your Wife!, Mozart in Amadeus, and Sidney in Deathtrap, for which he received a Best Actor Falcon Award from the Curtis Theater.

He is currently developing four drama projects and three reality concepts with producers and networks throughout Hollywood. A native of London, England, Valentine currently resides in Los Angeles with his dog Ziggy and two ghosts. And yes, if you ask nicely, he will still blow you away with an amazing trick!

Friday, November 7, 2008

Cool enough for friends, clean enough for families, Manhattan Magic will be bringing world-class magicians, as well as special guest comedians and variety performers, to the beautiful Sage Theater in New York City every Wednesday at 8 PM, beginning November 19th.

Manhattan Magic is a fresh, modern magic show that showcases incredible talent from around the world in an amazing, upscale theatrical environment. With different performers every week, Manhattan Magic is gearing up to be a premier venue for magic and variety performers in New York. It's a must-see event for anybody looking for a taste of the unordinary or extraordinary.

Manhattan MagicEvery Wednesday at 8 PMFrom November 19, 2008 8:00 PMThrough December 17, 2008 8:00 PM(Pre-show close-up magic begins at 7:30 PM)Sage Theater711 7th Ave., 2nd floor(between 47th and 48th Streets)Tickets: $20 (normally $30, but mention Tannen's for a $10 discount!)Group discounts are availableTickets can be can be reserved online at www.brownpapertickets.com or in person before the show.For more info and ticket information go to www.manhattanmagicshow.com